O ur "Small Group/Community Life" team and colleagues continue to plan and develop more ways for SOTP to grow closer to God and each other. Thank you--bless you-- to all our small group leaders! REMEMBER: Dessert at my house, 3820 Sumac, Island Lake, on Sunday, July 13 from 6:30-8:30.

Speaking of new small groups, Mary Conti is thrilled to be starting a service group for anyone interested in designing and making much needed worship banners for our new church building. Interested? See her or Pastor Sue Ellen. More info to follow soon!!!

Need to brush up on your Bible? Or open it for the very first time? SOTP's own Diakonia graduate Nancy Ramirez's 3rd annual Summer Sunday Session of "Bible Basics" study group begins next month! Watch the bulletin for exact dates and times!

Blessings to Community Life team members Bob and Carolyn Malm for hosting SOTP's 2nd quarterly "Generation Celebration" social group on June 14th! Despite the threat of bad weather, we had great fun, faith growth and fellowship.

Many thanks, also, to Carl and Sandy Hupert for planning and compiling our recent Adult Christian Education survey. We look forward to planning a dynamic Sunday morning program schedule for '08-'09 through your input!

SOTP's own Anita Bull, Russ Deloney and Theresa Molgren and I recently attended the Northern ILlinois Synod Assembly. Anita is very passionate about Shepherd of the Prairie completing the ELCA's survey on the Draft Statement on Sexuality, which will be voted on at the 2009 National ELCA Assembly. We need to complete and send in our congregation's responses to the statement by November 1, 2008. Please contact her or me, Pastor Sue Ellen Grudt, if you would like to be part of a study group which would work on this timely issues.

A personal thank you to Lois Brothers and the W-4 for the gift of beautiful flowers and delicious lunch at the Walleye Grill. I am so honored to be part of such a dedicated group of women. Please pray for Gail Barnard and Betty Knawa and the newly formed WELCA Board as they continue to discern how to best serve the group, church and world.

Thank you to the Mosbys for hosting the 1st service music teams on June 20. What fantastic food with such talented friends!

I spent a wonderful week at VBS assisting our hardworking newsletter editor, Gail Barnard, in the craft room. She and fellow crafts assistant, Janice Shuff. were so patient supervising my highly limited creative abilities, while cheerfully helping the youth paint, stamp, color, glue and braid amazing projects. Great job, Gail and all VBS leaders and helpers and many, many, many thanks to Donna Brown, who did a fantastic job directing this year's program. It was very much a success!

Blessings,
Pastor Sue Ellen
(July, 2008)




Remember whipping through Old Testament history and prophesy in 20 minutes? Well, now it is time to do the Christian story and Promise in the same sort of trip.

Community Life Team (formerly Small Group Team) members Bob and Carolyn Malm invite everyone to SOTP's 2nd quarterly "Generation Celebration" on Saturday, June 14 from 5-7 p.m. in the Willow Room at the Cosman Center. Young and old will play games together, share a pizza supper, sing songs and watch a special, humorous 20 minute video on the ENTIRE New Testament. Hope to see you there! This is an excellent opportunity to meet new church friends of all ages and grow in faith, too!
==========
Special prayers and condolences to Community LIfe Team member Rachael Yndestad, her husband Mike, and Annika on the death of her brother, Dirk Smid. Rachael and Mike led this spring's "Time Starved Marriage" Small Group, in which we, along with the SOTP family, spent time in prayer for Dirk, his wife Christy and their three daughters.
==========
Small Group Leaders--please mark your calendars now for Sunday, July 13 for a special "Thank-you" Dessert Bar at Pastor Sue's house from 6-8 p.m. More info to come.

The "Tuesdays 'til Two" Book Club, currently in its ninth month of existence, will study Max Lucado's John 3:16 for the summer. See the following article detailing the class.

3:16 — MAGIC NUMBERS

The Tuesdays ’Til 2 Book Group invites you to participate in the study of Max Lucado’s 3:16, The Numbers of Hope. The study features DVD presentations, individual study and lots of discussion. The group meets at Citizens Bank each Tuesday from 12:30-2 p.m.

Knowing that people are often out of town during the summer, presenters Mary Arneson, Donna Sorensen, Mary Tabatt, and Pastor Sue Ellen are planning a study that revolves around themes. You can participate in as many sessions as possible and will not be lost if you miss some. The session titles alone should whet your appetite enough to make you sign up.

3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one And only Son, that whoever believes in him Shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

Here's the schedule:

June 24 — “The Most Famous Conversation in the Bible.”

July 1 — “No One Like Him”

July 8 — “Hope for the Hard Heart”

July 15 — The Only One and Only”

July 22 — “The Heart He Offers”

July 29— “Heaven’s Whoever Policy”

August 5 —-“Believe and Receive”

August 12 — “God’s Gracious Grip”

August 19 — “What Makes Heaven Heavenly”

August 26 — “The Last Word On Life”
==========
Special thanks to Carl and Sandy Hupert for spearheading and working with me to co-ordinate our Adult Sunday School groups for the '08-'09 year.

Blessings,
Pastor Sue Ellen
(June, 2008)



SMALL GROUPS, BIG DOIN’S….. Many thanks to the congregation for your participation in my installation worship service and luncheon. It was a beautiful day. I am so honored to have served here these three years, and feel absolutely called to be your Associate Pastor, part-time. Special thanks to Carol Mosby and the Prairie Chimers, Gretchen Lane and the Prairie Singers, Tim Reincke ,Nancy Morbeck, Jake Luedtke, Dave and Beth Macauley, Mitch Corso and Annette Boster for their inspiring musical offerings. Many blessings to Doris Kopp, who organized the delicious lunch, and all who helped with set-up, clean-up and food preparation. I love my comforting prayer shawl--thank you to Alice Hallett and June Kobler (who also created it) for presenting it to me on that day. I use it every day during my devotions.

SOTP's new "YOUR TIME STARVED MARRIAGE" Small Group, marvelously led by Michael and Rachael Yndestad is really having a great TIME. Not only are we spending quality TIME with our spouses each Sunday afternoon, and learning how to carve out more TIME with them, but we're having a super TIME getting to know each other, too. Okay, enough emphasis on the TIME idea, but you get the idea! Other group members include Beth and Ron Mudge, Tim and Diana Reincke, and Pastors Rich and Sue Ellen Grudt. We all really appreciate the DVD and personalized workbooks with homework exercises from Christian psychologist/pastors Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. We each recently completed an especially helpful time management assessment tool, which led to some challenging discussion and learning. Many thanks to the Yndestads and Mudges for hosting our sessions, and to Nina and Ben Grudt for volunteering their babysitting TIME!

I am in the planning stages for a much requested SOTP Chili Supper/Variety Show to benefit World Hunger and the Building Fund. If you are interested in helping me get this great evening on the calendar, see me soon!

The Prairie Prayer Chain is growing-- thanks be to God. Keep those prayers flowing. God hears all of them! Please contact Ziggie Bekeris, Theresa Molgren or me, Pastor Sue, if you'd like to be included in these updates through phone and/or e-mail.

The Prairie Prayer Group is meeting on Fridays from 1-2 at the church office now. ALL ARE WELCOME. At each session we update our church prayer list, and pray for each person on it by name.

The Tuesday Book Group is enjoying our award-winning new Biblical novel, "Unashamed," by Francine Rivers. I believe there are about 17 of us (it seems to grow each week!) who are learning about the prostitute Rahab's great faith through the destruction of the city of Jericho, and her subsequent link to Christ's ancestry.

Blessings,
Pastor Sue Ellen
(May, 2008)